TSMC pioneered dry EUV mask cleaning technology, saving a total of 470 million yuan

According to Taiwanese media reports, TSMC has introduced dry extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask cleaning technology to improve energy and resource efficiency, creating cumulative improved benefits of NT$2 billion (approximately RMB 476 million).

TSMC's innovatively developed dry EUV mask cleaning technology began to be introduced into trial production in 2018, and began to further develop the automation of dry EUV mask cleaning technology in 2019. It was fully introduced into mass production in the 12-inch wafer factory in January this year.

It is understood that TSMC has innovatively developed dry EUV mask cleaning technology, which uses dry technology to quickly remove dust, replacing wet cleaning methods that require the use of pure water and chemicals; at the same time, it uses sub-nanoscale analysis technology to accurately locate the source of dust, eliminating the source of pollution from the root, and successfully reduced the dust reduction rate by more than 99% by 2020. Since the introduction of trial production, the cumulative water saving has been approximately 735 metric tons, and the use of chemicals has been reduced by approximately 36 metric tons.

In addition, the introduction of dry cleaning technology has significantly shortened the frequency and time of mask maintenance, causing the mask utilization rate to jump to more than 80%, and extending the life of advanced process EUV masks, creating a cumulative improvement benefit of 2 billion yuan.